MLB News and Rumors 2016: League Hires Director for New Diversity Program

By Jude Abastar, Christian Post Contributor Friday, January 29, 2016

Tyrone Brooks decided to leave the Pittsburgh Pirates to become the new senior director for MLB's newest front office and field staff diversity program. The league created this program in the hope of increasing the pool of minority and female prospects for on-field and baseball operations positions.

The 42-year-old Brooks will be leaving behind the position of director of player personnel in Pittsburgh. Before getting that job, he also held front office positions for the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians.

Before the announcement last Wednesday, the league has been a constant subject of criticisms for the way it is allegedly ignoring the importance of giving minorities the opportunity to hold positions in front offices, as well as dugouts in the league. Accordingly, this new office will have the exclusive function and responsibility of addressing that issue.

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The office is named "Front Office and Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program" and will, according to league officials, "identify, develop, and grow the pool of qualified minority and female candidates for on-field and baseball operations positions throughout the industry."

Part of Brooks' job as senior director will be to report to an advisory committee and the commissioner's office. He also will be tasked to meet and report to MLB owners, but not on a consistent basis.

Aside from Brooks, the MLB also announced other appointments on Wednesday, including Renee Tirado, who will be assuming the position of senior director of recruitment. She will be reporting to Steven Gonzales, who works as senior vice president, as well as the deputy general counsel for labor and human resources.

The newly hired individuals will be looking at creating more diversity in the league. The MLB is widely scrutinized for having only two African-American managers — Dave Roberts of the LA Dodgers and Dusty Bakers of the Washington Nationals — while Fredi Gonzalez remains the only Latino manager.